When we were writing that previous blog about ITT Tech imploding (imploding sounds so much cooler than filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation), it suddenly hit us: you could take all four of our courses — Ruby on Rails, Python, JavaScript, and Game Development — in the same amount of time you that you could get an associate’s degree at many traditional schools that offer coding classes!

Often we’ll see people coming through our coding bootcamps and taking just one course. After all, they might have a natural draw toward the Python language or Ruby on Rails training. Perhaps they’ve even dabbled in a particular language before. After they’ve taken the 20- or 21-week course, they head off into the world to make use of their new skills. In other words, they get a job and continue to learn more about the language and the code that can help them in their career. Every language we teach is going to be around for a very long time, so there’s no doubt that they’ve made a good investment.

But some students keep coming back to take more of our coding boot camps. In fact, some of them use the first class to get their day job and then come back to learn more at night. You might wonder why people choose to learn more than one language instead of putting all of their efforts into one. Here are a few reasons you might want to continue taking coding classes even after you have a job.

You Might Have To Wear Multiple Hats

Here’s a word you hear every day: startup. Type it into Google and you get 225,000,000 matches. The tech industry is constantly looking for the next big thing, and that thing is usually a startup.

If you are hired by a startup, you might be the only employee other than the founder. Or you might be one of two coders in a company of twelve. When that happens, you’re going to have to wear multiple hats. You might need to know one language to make the website interactive, another for on-site games, and another for security. If you know how to use all of these programming languages, you can be indispensable.

Even if you aren’t a master of coding in a second language, you’ll need to know who to hire next to make that startup as good as it can be. And it won’t hurt if you can go under the hood and fix some of the simple (yet time-consuming) stuff to assist someone who is a master at that second coding language.

It Can Provide a Stopgap

Whether you’re working for a startup or at a large company, there’s always the chance that layoffs could be right around the corner. Coders are always in demand, but knowing two or more coding languages can make it twice as easy to find a job on the same day you get laid off. Even if you have have to fall back on your secondary language for a couple of months, it certainly beats having to explain any gaps in your résumé. And speaking of résumés...

A Second Language Helps Your Résumé

Let’s say you’re applying for a Ruby on Rails job at a well-established company. You’re up against someone who has the exact same Ruby on Rails training and has had similar work experience so far. Now imagine that your résumé also lets the hiring director know that you’ve been to a coding bootcamp for Python. All things being equal, who do you think will get the job?

Learning to code in a second language certainly isn’t résumé padding; it’s a sign to those in HR that you’re multi-talented and a go-getter. You might not need to wear multiple hats, but a company likes to know that you can if called upon to do so.

Some Languages Will Outlast Others

Up above we said that we only teach classes that will be around for “a very long time.” And, according to this report, all signs point to that being true: we teach the 1st (JavaScript), 4th (Python), and 7th (Ruby on Rails) most popular languages in our coding classes that the tech industry is looking for.

But will each of these be around forever? When you watch Star Trek: TNG, do you imagine that the NCC-1701-D is running JavaScript 348 years in the future? Probably not! JavaScript and Python have each been around more than 20 years; while we see both of the languages we offer being used for a long time to come, knowing both is the best way to ensure that you’ll always be at the front of your field.

Knowing more than one programming language can only be a positive as you make your way through the tech industry during your career. Check out the courses we offer, or contact us directly to discuss which language you’d like to learn next.